Gluten-free Diets Are Harmful for the General Population
(Except for one percent)

The current gluten-free diet craze is unhealthy for those who do not need
it—those without celiac disease. In search of weight loss and/or feeling
better, millions of Americans risk becoming sicker and fatter by increasing
their intake of gluten-free products. Estimates are as high as 15 to 25
percent of consumers in the US want gluten-free food, with the global market
of gluten-free products approaching $2.6 billion in 2010.

Three Potential Problems from Wheat

Celiac Disease:

Celiac disease results from damage to the intestines
caused by eating gluten, found in wheat, barley, and rye, in genetically
susceptible people. The resulting malabsorption prevents the small intestine
from efficiently absorbing necessary nutrients. Diarrhea, abdominal pain,
flatulence, weakness, and weight loss are frequent. Gluten damage to the
intestinal barrier creates a “leaky gut.” Now “foreign proteins” from
microbes and food are indiscriminately allowed to pass through the
intestinal wall, causing all kinds of trouble. People with untreated celiac
disease have a two to six times greater risk of dying, mainly due to an
increase in the risk of lymphoma, and a much greater risk of suffering from
autoimmune diseases, such as type-1 diabetes and thyroiditis (leading to
hypothyroidism).

The definitive diagnosis of celiac disease is made by a bowel biopsy showing
damage to the intestinal lining (villous atrophy). Blood tests (endomysial
and tissue transglutaminase antibodies) help support the diagnosis. The
cornerstone of treatment is lifelong adherence to a strictly gluten-free
diet.

Wheat Allergies:

Wheat allergies are classically found as two
conditions: baker’s asthma and rhinitis (runny nose). However, allergies to
components of wheat may cause, and contribute to, many other problems,
including inflammatory arthritis.

Wheat Sensitivity:

A new category of problems classified as “wheat
sensitivity” or “non-celiac gluten intolerance” has recently become widely
recognized. This form of gluten intolerance is diagnosed when both celiac
disease and wheat allergy have been excluded. Symptoms include abdominal
discomfort, bloating, pain, and diarrhea. In addition, many people relate
headaches, “foggy mind,” depression, fatigue, muscle cramps, joint pain,
numbness, and skin rash to wheat sensitivity. The actual incidence of
non-celiac gluten intolerance is unknown.

Because this condition is so non-specific, my guess is that most of these
people are simply sick from their unhealthful diet of meat, dairy foods,
vegetable oils, and other junk food. Blaming gluten or wheat is wrong, and
as a result, their efforts on gluten-free eating are misplaced. Benefits
seen while attempting any new more restrictive diet regimen are from simply
removing foods recognized to be unhealthful, irrelevant to their containing
gluten or not.

Gluten-free Can Be a Disguise for Low-carb Eating

The national best-selling book, Wheat Belly, by William Davis, MD, has
fueled the current rage for gluten-free foods. The book’s subtitle is “Lose
the wheat, lose the weight, and find your path back to health.” Misquoting
the research and ignoring the bulk of the scientific evidence, Dr. Davis has
convinced people, as well known as Fox News TV co-host Bill O’Rielly, that
avoiding wheat is the solution to America’s obesity and health crises. Dr.
Davis says “modern wheat is a perfect chronic poison; it causes diabetes, it
causes inflammation, it causes heart disease, it causes high blood
pressure….” He goes on to claim in a CBS News interview that the elimination
of wheat will cure these conditions and cause people to stop their
medications.

Although I applaud Dr. Davis for bringing problems with wheat to greater
public awareness, I consider this fad a serious diversion away from what I
believe to be the real solution to obesity and common diseases: a
starch-based diet. Traditionally my kind of high-carbohydrate eating has
been the diet of people throughout recordable human history, and a large
share of these civilizations, ancient and modern, have relied on generous
amounts of wheat, barley, and/or rye for survival.

While exaggerating the benefits of a wheat-free diet, Dr. Davis makes clear
his alliance with the low-carb movement, typified by the popular Paleo and
Atkins diets. He recommends people eat unlimited amounts of eggs, full fat
cheese, other dairy products, meat, fish, chicken, and vegetable (olive)
oils; and reducing or eliminating favorite (even non-gluten) “comfort
foods,” like corn, rice, oats, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, potatoes, and
beans. My opposite conclusion is that Dr. Davis’s prescription for filling
the dinner table with rich foods, those once reserved for the tables of
opulent kings and queens, is actually the cause of the current epidemics of
obesity and common illnesses in the developed world, not the solution.

The AACC International (formerly the American Association of Cereal
Chemists), a global nonprofit organization of 2,500 grain scientists and
professionals studying the chemistry of cereal grains and their products,
also disagrees with Dr. Davis and has responded with a scientific analysis
of a few of his claims.

Gluten-free Diets Cause Weight Gain

Patients with celiac disease are usually suffering with malnourishment
because of the problems created by damage to their intestines from gluten.
Following removal of the wheat, barley, and rye, the GI track usually heals,
and only then are calories and other nutrients efficiently assimilated.
Weight gain is the desired and expected result for underweight people with
celiac disease. Some people with documented celiac disease, however, are
overweight, and even obese, before starting a gluten-free diet. You might
expect that the dietary restrictions imposed by a strict gluten-free
protocol alone would cause weight loss for them. Unfortunately, weight gain
is a common occurrence in overweight and obese adults and children with
celiac disease who go on gluten-free diets. A 2012 study of 1018 patients
with biopsy confirmed celiac disease found significant weight gain; with 16
percent of patients moving from a normal or low BMI (body mass index) class
into an overweight BMI class, and 22 percent of the patients who were
overweight at the time of diagnosis gaining weight after starting their
strict gluten-free diet.

Let me be more to the point for the growing masses looking for the answer:
“There are no published reports showing that a gluten-free diet produces
weight loss in persons without celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.” To
reiterate this point, a 2011 article in the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association states, “At this time there is no scientific evidence supporting
the alleged benefit that a gluten-free diet will promote weight loss.”

The primary reason for unwanted weight gain found in people buying
gluten-free products is that these imitations often contain more calories,
fat, and sugar, and fewer important nutrients (dietary fiber, complex
carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals) than the original gluten-containing
foods. Even the causal observer can see the folly in eating gluten-free
cakes, cookies, and pies, and expecting weight loss and better health. A
trip through your local health food store or supermarket reveals rows of
desserts where the wheat has been replaced with another grain (flour); and
fats, vegetable oils, simple sugars, dairy products, and eggs are abundant
on the ingredient lists.

When an expert dietitian, knowledgeable about proper food choices for a
healthy gluten-free diet, devoid of cakes, cookies, and pies, is involved in
patient care, then weight loss is accomplished. In one study overweight and
obese patients were advised to choose a high quality gluten-free diet with
naturally gluten-free foods (fruits and vegetables) and alternate non-gluten
containing grains (quinoa and buckwheat). These properly counseled patients
consistently lost excess weight. There is unfortunately a paucity of
dietitians and medical doctors available for the proper management of celiac
disease.

This Fad Ultimately Harms Many Celiac Patients

If you are one of the few people with celiac disease, then avoiding gluten
is crucial to your health. You cannot cheat! With the popularity of “going
gluten-free,” for unsubstantiated reasons, the importance of this dietary
restriction for the truly needy has been diminished. Waiters at restaurants
become used to customers asking for “gluten-free dishes” and then failing to
object when a few whole wheat bread crumbs appear as a decoration on top of
their potato soup. Since wheat, barley, and rye did not cause any apparent
distress in the previous 99 customers, the waiters and chefs think, “It
can’t be all that important.” But it is for that one percent.

Dr. McDougall’s Recommendations:

If you suspect that you have celiac disease, get tested by your physician.
Avoidance of gluten foods is a lifelong restriction. If you are unsure about
your diagnosis, but still suspect gluten, then go on a starch-based diet,
with no wheat, barley or rye. For example, you can base your diet on rice,
corn, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and beans, with fruits and green and
yellow vegetables. The connection between gluten and celiac disease is so
close that the diagnosis can often be made when the patient experiences
dramatic improvement of symptoms upon following a gluten-free diet.
Confirmation of your diagnosis can be made by carefully adding back any
suspected foods.

If you, like two-thirds of adults in the US, are sick and overweight, and of
the vast majority whom are also without celiac disease, wheat allergy or
wheat sensitivity, then I strongly recommend that you include these good
starches—wheat, barley and rye—in your diet because these foods are known to
cause desirable weight loss and medical benefits.

All root vegetables, like potatoes, yams, sweet
potatoes, and cassava-root (tapioca)
All legumes**, more specifically, beans (including soy and chickpeas), peas
and lentils
All green, yellow, and orange vegetables
All fruits

* Oats have been demonstrated in multiple studies to be free of toxic
proteins and can be tolerated by most, but not all, people with celiac
disease; but there is worry that commercial oat products may be contaminated
with wheat.

**Legumes create extra gas, sometimes causing bloating and bowel discomfort.
This reaction may be confused with symptoms of celiac disease and wheat
sensitivity.

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answering many of their health and diet questions, and in encouraging them to
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We, personally, have found that a whole food vegan diet has helped our own
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Each of us must make our own decisions, for it's our own body. If you have
a health problem, see your own physician.

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